FAQ PPC Questions :Why cant I find my Paid Search Ad on Google?

Friday, August 28th, 2009 | Local Search, PPC Advertising, Search Engines | No Comments

Both Business Owners and Account Managers, like myself, ask this question often.  Before panicking, wondering where all your marketing dollars are going, there are a few reasons why one can miss seeing their ad on search engines.  Here’s a list of a few common answers:

1.  You are searching too much.  Google, Yahoo and MSN log your IP address, which is like your computers ID, and stops showing paid search ads to you after so many searches.   If you search “cheesecake richmond” 10 times in a row and never click on any links, search engines will assume you are not a valid searchers or even a robot.  Why? Its to prevent click fraud and inconsistent search data.  Try using Google’s ad preview tool; https://adwords.google.com/select/AdTargetingPreviewTool.  It lets you see ads as customers would while not affecting your adwords data.

2.  Your Budget is set too low.  Sure, we are all trying to pinch pennies here and there and unfortunately marketing dollars are usually the first to go. If your budget is too low, your ads will show sparingly throughout the day.  Search engines will your ad once in every 10 searches by customers.  Not good, this means only 10% of your customers will actually see your ad.  Lets put it this way, its like if you were advertising in a magazine and 9 out of every 10 magazines had their pages ripped out with your ad on it. What can you do besides increasing your budget?  Lots of things, but thats why you hired us right?

3.  Your ad is not running or has a low quality score.  Quality score is a tricky secret formula probably locked up in Mr Crab’s safe next to the Crabby Patty recipe.  We do know that your text and display ads need to match your keyword relevancy and have a successful landing page.  If your ads aren’t running, give us a call (804.228.4422) and we can help you.

Tweet This Post 

SEO Success: Written in the Stars?

Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Internet Marketing, PPC Advertising, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | 1 Comment

When we’re asked by businesses what they should look out for when choosing a search engine marketing agency, we usually resort to a few hard, fast rules like research the agency you’re considering, get referrals, etc…

But in all our earnest efforts, we seem to have overlooked an more ominous omen important to selecting the right agency. Luckily we came across an article from SearchEnginePeople.com that gave valuable insight into internet marketers, and the astrology signs that make them up. Prompting us to ask each other questions that made our HR department a little uncomfortable like: Hey…I see you’re getting your fifth cup of coffee today and I couldn’t help but wonder…what’s your sign?

After some discussion, we matched the NetSearch Direct team with the article’s SEM astrology profiles. See if you can guess who’s who:

Cancer

At the heart of a Search Marketing company can probably be found a Cancer or two. Fantastic HR experts and account managers, they will always tell you how they feel about your account. They really do care about how you feel and have empathy for your point of view, but when you’re wrong, they will not hesitate to tell you so.

Leo

Friendly Leo is a social star. They belong in the spotlight, and they know it! These friendly and opinionated people are among the best people to lead and motivate others. Consider putting them in charge of any endeavour that demands networking with people or being on stage.

Virgo

Friendly and down to earch Virgos will always be able to tell you exactly what you can do to improve your campaign. Full of creative ideas and always able to keep an eye on the profit margin, these friendly folk are in it for the long run.

Sagittarius

Your Sagittarius account manager understands your issues and knows what you’re trying to achieve. They will happily sit and listen to your plan and give you the big picture context you need to put everything into place. They tend to be friendly and talkative and are easy to get along with.

Capricorn

Patient and organized, a Capricorn always sees the long-term strategy, and sticks to the plan to make sure it gets done. Although quiet and a bit reserved, you will always profit by having a Capricorn on your team, long after others have fallen by the wayside. Capricorn has bright ideas but explaining them can be difficult so just nod and trust you’re in capable hands, because you are.

Aquarius

If Cancer is the heart of your SEO business, then Aquarius is the soul. No, scratch that, because Aquarius could almost never bring themselves to stay long in a corporate environment. Your Aquarius consultant is filled with some of the craziest ideas you’ve ever heard but you have a feeling there’s something brilliant going on there you can’t quite understand.

Pisces

Always willing to lend a helping hand, your Pisces SEO will always celebrate your wins with you. They will take the time to figure out your exact issues while their investigative and analytical skills ensure that your campaign will be run well.

When you’ve got your nose to the grindstone it’s easy to forget to look up and take notice of the bigger things around you, things like constellations and the celestial lights that make them up twinkling away in the night sky. Turns out, these stars are more than just pretty lights – they may actually predict the success of your SEM. Dubious? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely. So, reader, we couldn’t help but notice that you’re still reading….what’s your sign?

Tweet This Post 

Another Google Test – Search Engine Image Ads

Friday, August 14th, 2009 | PPC Advertising, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engines | No Comments

Google has Search Network Text ads, they  have Content Network Image ads, but Search Network Image Ads?

Rumors have been floating around, that Google is testing images placed on the paid search results space with text ads.   Tests show (and you know we all believe in tests), that images placed next to paid search ads are more effective than plain text ads.  Check out Facebook’s paid search ads who are all over this;

Now check it out without an image…

Makes all the difference.  One things for sure, this is one blogger that’s excited to test the feature, if it ever goes public.

Tweet This Post 

Tags: paid search images, search engine image ads, search network image ads

SEM Industry Buzz: Get in the Know

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 | Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

Two buzz-worthy topics from the August NetSearch Direct newsletter:

1) How going green could earn your business some green, and;

2) Everyone’s doing the social media mamba – should your business join in?

Industry Trends are a regular feature of the NetSearch Direct newsletter, and give you an inside look into the latest search engine marketing trends. Be sure to check back for new topics every month and give your water cooler chat buddies something to really talk about.

Tweet This Post 

Three Things I Learned About My Business From SEO

Monday, August 10th, 2009 | Internet Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

When we talked to local business owners last month about their PPC campaigns, we also got an earful from the SEO side. Richmond business owners shared three valuable lessons their SEO campaigns taught them about their company.

You’ll have to read the full article here to get the entire perspective, but we’ll sum it up quickly for you on-the-go CEOs who have way to many things crammed into your 9-5 already:

Life Lesson 1: Network Your Website – Business owners speak to the value of link building for their website and how it’s affected their overall business

Life Lesson 2: Analyze From the Top Down – Company executives have learned the hard way that all the data your campaigns pull is pointless unless you utilize it correctly. The take-home message here is to look at the picture the numbers are painting for you.

Life Lesson 3: Put Your Best Online Face Forward – Your website is the online portal to your business so be sure your game face is on. If yours isn’t, you can be your biggest competitor will be laughing all the way to the bank.

If your SEO campaigns haven’t turned the mirror back on your business, we have to ask you why you’re wasting your time. NetSearch Direct’s clients receive monthly reports offering up analytical data and new opportunities for business growth and development. We know companies are constantly growing, and we aim to keep the momentum going.

Tweet This Post 

Have a Good Weekend – Stay Cool!

Friday, August 7th, 2009 | NetSearch Direct News | No Comments

Tweet This Post 

Tags: broken fan

Three Things I Learned About My Business from PPC

Thursday, August 6th, 2009 | Internet Marketing, PPC Advertising, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

Featured in the August 2009 NetSearch Direct newsletter, “Three Things I Learned About My Business from PPC“, is a daring, compelling article featuring exclusive information gained from our current clients.

Okay, maybe it’s not daring, or really even compelling, but three businesses sat down with us and shared the top business life lessons they have learned from advertising with PPC. These are lessons learned the old-fashioned way – through hard-earned experience.

Your PPC campaign is painting a bigger picture than metrics, data, and ROI. Taken from the article, your PPC campaign can give you a whole new understanding of what you thought you had a grasp on previously. Specifically, you’ll learn how PPC can teach you about:

1) Your target customer.
2) Your biggest competitor.
3) How to craft your website to reflect your company personality and still get sales.

If you haven’t read the article, check it out now. It’s a fast read and even though your business may not have provided us the insight for the article, we’re sure you can still learn something about your business from reading it.

Happy selling!

Tweet This Post 

Tags: ppc, ppc business lessons, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, seo business lessons

Richmond Retail Merchants Expo in Richmond Virginia

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 | Internet Marketing | No Comments

Today NetSearch Direct is having fun at the Retail Merchants Retail Marketing Expo.  Our theme is Stump the Rank Master with our very own Jason Moreau as the Rank Master.  Find out where your site ranks at our stump the rank master page.   If you miss us at the show just give us a call to find out how we can help your business grow online.

Jason chatting it up with our friends from Zuula Consulting

Tweet This Post 

Tags: jason moreau, rank master, retail merchants